Yellow Raft In Blue Water Essay, Research Paper

?When writers write from a place of insight and real caring about the truth, they have the ability to throw the lights on for the reader.? (Anne Lamott)

When a reader can see a situation in a distinct and realistic way that appeals to his emotion, he knows that the writer has written with great insight. With experience, writers can express the deeper meaning of a time or situation. In A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Michael Dorris exhibits this technique when he writes about Christine leaving Rayona at Ida?s house. The 1920?s is viewed as a prosperous and glamorous time period, but F. Scott Fitzgerald tells us otherwise. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald unveils the reality of peoples? lives in the 1920?s by telling the story of Jay Gatsby.

In A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Christine is ill, and she leaves Rayona at Ida?s house. Dorris is able to ?throw the lights on for the reader?, because the reader views this situation through two perspectives. Rayona thought that Christine was being selfish for leaving her with Ida. She felt that her mother was not looking out for her, and neglecting her. However, when one views the circumstances through Christine?s eyes, the reader discovers that Christine left because she did not want Rayona to see what she was going through. Christine also did not want Rayona to feel bad for her. Michael Dorris tells the story through two different perspectives, so the reader can sense the reality and truth of what each character is feeling inside.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald does not portray the 1920?s as a time of wealth, happiness, and excess like it is believed to be. Fitzgerald uses the character, Jay Gatsby, to show the reader that this time period was not all about happiness and joy. Gatsby is a man who did not know what real love was. He had the fancy cars, and the beautiful house, but he did not have Daisy. Fitzgerald is trying to show the reader that not everyone who had money in this time period was happy. Fitzgerald writes the way it really was, allowing the reader to understand what people were like at this time. Another realistic character in The Great Gatsby is Daisy Buchanan. Daisy?s husband, Tom, was a very successful individual, who had money, luxuries, and a big house. Daisy was still not happy and had an affair with Gatsby. The reality was that everyone was not happy with their lives. Many people had problems and Fitzgerald shows this in his work.

Finally, when writers write with insight, the reader is able to understand the truth about the situation. Many works of literature do not tell the truth, and the reader is not able to feel what is going on in the book. Michael Dorris and F. Scott Fitzgerald do a phenomenal job in bringing the reader down to earth. The writers use their knowledge of the time period to write practically.